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Tyler Keenan
Tyler James Keenan '''(born August 11th, 1991), better known professionally as just '''Tyler Keenan, is an American professional wrestler, professional model, former business executive and former reality television star who is currently signed with British professional wrestling promotion Royal Wrestling Kingdom (RWK), where he is the current RWK Imperial Champion in his first reign. Keenan is best known for his time in former New York-based professional wrestling promotion Next Generation Wrestling, where he was a former NGW Tag Team Champion with Christopher Jordan as Extremely Lethal. He is also widely known as a member of the wealthy Keenan family, a well-known and respectable family in the Los Angeles area. The son of a wealthy businessman, Vernon Keenan, and a socialite from the Los Angeles area, Tyler Keenan was first known to the media and the public as a professional model and reality TV star before he shockingly made the decision to leap over to the professional wrestling scene, earning himself much media attention and discussion as to whether a reality star should as him could make it in the business belonging to athletes and trained fighters. He is widely known throughout the sport for his portrayal of a heel character, a gimmick that he has consistently portrayed throughout his career. The basis of the gimmick constitutes a rich kid who has been given everything in life, but wants to prove to the world that he is more than that, unwittingly showing off his wealth and cocky attitude in the process due to his bad attitude. However, depending on his alignment as heel or face, Keenan shows off different sides to the character from being a sympathetic rogue who works to his own ends to an evil villain that is cowardly and dastardly in the way he outwits his opponents and wins his matches. During his time in the sport, Keenan has gained a number of nicknames under the different gimmicks that he uses, including his most famous ones of 'The First-Rate Manipulator', which he picked up during his run in Next Generation Wrestling, and 'The Modern-Day Wordsmith', which he gained during his time in the Internet Wrestling Alliance. Both of the nicknames stem from the elegant and determined words that come from his mouth when he conducts his pre-match videos. He has worked all across North America, from Seattle to New York, before settling down in New York in early 2016. As of late 2016, he has now resumed travelling North America once again, moving to places like Louisiana and back to New York on a regular basis. In 2016, he spent a few months working for independent promotions in Japan under his arrogant rich kid gimmick, but failed to find the same success that he has done over in North American promotions and soon returned to his home country. Early Life Tyler James Keenan was born in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California on August 11th, 1991 and raised in the Hollywood neighbourhood of Los Angeles. He is the twin brother of model and fashion designer Katrina 'Kitty' Keenan, the son of entrepreneur and businessman Vernon Keenan socialite Alicia Keenan. He attended Jack Wrexham High School in Los Angeles, California and graduated from the University of California with a degree in psychology. Keenan watched wrestling from an early age, specifically watching his first match when he was seven years old. During his time at Jack Wrexham High School, he enjoyed a successful high school wrestling career. He placed fifth in the 170lb (77kg) weight division in his sophomore year. In his senior year, he was the runner-up in the California state tournament in 2009. Following his graduation from high school, Keenan continued to be interested in wrestling and had planned to wrestle collegiality, but his father convinced him to begin working at the family company instead and pursue a business career. Whilst training at a gym in Santa Monica, which he had been recommended to by some friends, Keenan met retired professional wrestler Chris Calhoun. Learning that Calhoun owned and ran a professional wrestling training school down in Santa Monica, California, Keenan was influenced to enroll and began to train as a professional wrestler under Calhoun and his training team, which included former MMA fighters that helped Keenan to enhance and perfect the submission style that he favours. Professional Wrestling Career Early Career Tyler's first stint into wrestling was when he enrolled as a student of Chris Calhoun at his wrestling school in Santa Monica, California. Whilst training there he was trained personally most of the time by Calhoun himself, who was a popular technical wrestler in the 1970s, to become a professional wrestler. Whilst training there, Keenan made his professional debut, working some pay-per-appearance deals for some low-level independent wrestling promotions in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas for little view and pay. After a few months of training and working the independents, however, both Keenan and Calhoun began to send out tapes of Keenan's wrestling ability in the hopes that it would get more and more people interested in what the kid could do. This allowed Keenan to expand more into the connecting states and got him more and more renown on the independent stage, allowing him to work more and more across the nearby areas and add more to his tapes and highlight montages. Next Generation Wrestling (2015 - 2016) Signing & Debut In January 2015, Tyler Keenan received his first big break on the professional wrestling scene after it was announced that he, along with a lot of other young talents, was in talks with Next Generation Wrestling, an upcoming wrestling federation which was set to be the developmental program of Pro Wrestling ARK. Keenan attended a trial and was signed immediately, earning himself a developmental contract within the promotion, allowing himself to learn from people like Guernica, Nathan Cage and the World's Kawaiiest Tag Team, who went down to help train the new talent. On January 14th 2015, it was announced that at NGW: A New Hope, Tyler Keenan would face Shane Anzalone, Victor and Carlos Bello for a place in the Heavyweight Championship Battle Royal at Doomsday on February 15th. At A New Hope, Carlos Bello was the one who triumphed over the other three after scoring a pinfall on Keenan himself. Next, on March 1st, it was announced that Tyler Keenan would be teaming with NGW newcomer Christopher Jordan, whom he had met during a training session. The two bonded and, after a couple of tag spars against local opponents, decided to stick together and form a team. Now together as Extremely Lethal, it was decided that the two men would be fighting two men called Storm Andrews and Ryan Vendetta, collectively known as the Danger Zone, at NGW: Doomsday for their tag team debut. On March 31st, Tyler Keenan and Christopher Jordan lost to The Danger Zone after Jordan was pinned, but stayed together due to their backstage friendship and camaraderie. At NGW: Uprising, The World's Kawaiiest Tag Team, Sloane and Raine, defeated Extremely Lethal, The Danger Zone and the team of Dan Mulak and Brian Nebraska, Beauty and the Beast, to become the inaugural NGW Tag Team Champions, adding another loss to the record of both men. However, following the Pay-Per-View, NGW General Manager. Walter Graham, announced that at the next show, NGW: Downfall, Extremely Lethal would face off against The World's Kawaiiest Tag Team for the NGW Tag Team Championships following both of their 'spectacular performances' at Uprising. Tag Title Contention & Reign At NGW Downfall, Extremely Lethal came close to defeating the World's Kawaiiest Tag Team, but fell short at the very end and suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the tag team champions. Their loss kept them off the card at NGW: Cyberclash, but the duo made an unexpected appearance by interrupting an episode of the Danger Show, which was being held by their rivals Storm Andrews and Ryan Vendetta, trashing the set and wreaking havoc to prove a point to the world that they wanted to be heard. Following this, Tyler Keenan was announced as a member of Team Graham in a 5 on 5 match alongside Chris Jordan in the historic first ever 5v5 tag team match at NGW: Fallout, where Team Graham (Chris Young, Carlos Bello, Christopher Jordan, Tyler Keenan and Walter Graham) would face off against Team Guernica (Sloane, Raine, Storm Andrews, Ryan Vendetta and Guernica) with the fate of the company at stake. Tyler Keenan became the last man standing of Team Graham, fighting until the bitter end and scoring himself two eliminations over Sloane and Storm Andrews. He fought Guernica, as both men were the sole survivors of their teams, but could not prevail against him despite Guernica's injured arm. Tyler was crushed by the defeat, sick of not being able to defeat any of the tag teams in NGW, and pleaded with Walter Graham to give Extremely Lethal one last chance at the World's Kawaiiest Tag Team for the Championships. Graham agreed, but added the conditions that The Danger Zone would also be added to the match to try and remove them from the equation as well and that if Extremely Lethal lost, Tyler Keenan would become Walter Graham's puppet until the end of his contract, as Graham was banned from appearing at any shows due to the outcome of the Graham vs. Guernica match at Fallout, which Graham held Keenan accountable for. At NGW: Meltdown, Extremely Lethal did the impossible and managed to win the NGW Tag Team Championships amid speculation that they were nearing the end of their tenure in NGW. The two men celebrated for a while, before it was announced that they would be taking part in the Minefield Marathon event, and would be defending their new titles throughout the event. Keenan held this down to the increased tensions between himself and Graham, while multiple pundits believed that it was due to suspicions of favoritism that led Graham to make them defend their newly won titles against H.I.S.S. However, lightning did not strike twice for Extremely Lethal, as H.I.S.S. triumphed at The Phantom Agony and became the third Tag Team Champions in NGW History. Singles Run & World Title Contention Following their loss at The Phantom Agony and multiple disagreements about their futures in the company, Keenan and Jordan made the decision to disband Extremely Lethal and became singles competitors. Later, it was announced that both Christopher Jordan and Tyler Keenan would be participants in a gauntlet match at NGW: Prisoners of Winter alongside the likes of Carlos Bello, Paul Ravana, KOU Kazuma and Trevor Raynor, with the winner going on to face either Kelsey Taylor or Brian Nebraska for the NGW Heavyweight Championship in the main event of NGW: Anniversary, the major NGW Show of the year. At Prisoners of Winter, Tyler Keenan was the last entrant and booked himself a place in the main event of Anniversary against Kelsey Taylor after defeating his former tag team partner Christopher Jordan. However, at the end of the match, Keenan and Jordan shook hands, hinting at a possible face turn for Keenan. At the biggest NGW show of the year, NGW Anniversary, it was announced that 'The Modern-Day Wordsmith' Tyler Keenan would take on the 'Ultraviolent Goddess' Kelsey Taylor for the NGW Championship in a singles match, with the added stipulation that Kelsey would immediately lose the NGW Championship if she was disqualified by any means or if any members of her stable, the bloodlusTRevolution, were to enter ringside or the ring at any time during the contest. However, Next Generation Wrestling shut down shortly after the event was announced, leaving Keenan as the last sole contender to Kelsey Taylor's championship reign, something to this day he still believed he could end. "It was crushing, absolutely crushing. It was the company that I had worked for since it started, a place where I was able to ris through the ranks and come close to my first big break at the top of the mountain. I was confident that I was ready to break that undefeated streak, but I was never able to. Instead, I got a text that basically thanked me for my hard work and dedication and that I would be compensated for the remaining time on my contract. No title match, nothing. I was just lost after that, I didn't know where to go." - Tyler Keenan, 2016 Internet Wrestling Alliance (2015) ''' After his NGW: Fallout performance that the whole world seemed to see, Tyler Keenan became touted as a big shot on the American independent scene. Soon, rumours spread that Tyler Keenan had agreed terms to join the returning Internet Wrestling Alliance. The next day, on his Twitter account; he confirmed the deal saying: 'It looks like I'm moving up in the world. I'd like to thank @TheOfficialIWA for offering me a contract, I won't let you down'. - Tyler Keenan, 2015 Tyler Keenan appeared on the debut show of IWA, Resurrection, alongside the other members of Extremely Lethal and a man by the name of Issac Solo, who defeated the three of them in a fatal four way to become the number one contender to the IWA Internet Championship. '''National Championship Contention Despite his loss at Resurrection, Tyler Keenan was entered into a Beat the Clock challenge tournament alongside Chance Kelly, Latavius Achilles and Empress Esperanza. Knowing that he may not be able to win this alone, Tyler introduced a man by the name of Shayne Carter into the world of IWA and together, the two managed to win the challenge by defeating Empress Esperanza in the fastest time, after Tyler Keenan knocked Esperanza out with a pair of brass knuckles due to a distraction by Shayne Carter, to become the number one contender to the IWA National Championship, which was held by Weston Alexander at that point in time. On the September 28th edition of IWA: WarZone, history seemed to repeat itself when Keenan destroyed Lava Orsten with the brass knuckles after another distraction from Shayne Carter, causing her career to be kayfabe ended and causing a lot of backlash from the fans and other members of the IWA community for showing such a thing. Following this, in a fit of jealousy, Tyler Keenan interrupted the match between James Sloane, his old rival from NGW, and the National Champion Weston Alexander and ensured that Weston won to make sure James Sloane would not get an opportunity at the National Championship. On October 5th, Tyler Keenan lost to his old rival James Sloane, whom declared vengeance upon him after his actions the week prior. Keenan lost the match after he abandoned it and left the arena through the crowd, not chancing the fact that Sloane could seriously injure him and effect his match with Weston at the Pay-Per-View. At Built for Battle, Tyler Keenan was unable to defeat Weston Alexander after both men gave it their all and put on one of the best technical matches in the history of IWA. Keenan gave it his all and earned the respect of Weston Alexander, and seemingly broke kayfabe after the event by congratulating Weston on his victory and his newfound respect for the man on his social timeline. Feud with Evie Taylor and Departure On the October 26th edition of WarZone, Tyler Keenan lost to veteran Kyle Cross after his brass knuckle shot was seen by the referee and he was disqualified. He then interrupted the return of fan favourite and former IWA Women's Champion Evie Taylor by riling her up with personal issues, before putting her to sleep with a triangle choke. He would then embark on a vendetta against the IWA community by using Taylor as a scapegoat, tormenting her on her social timeline and in the outside world by publicly embarrassing her at a Halloween Party held by her best friend by making sexual approaches towards her. Keenan then set alight a picture of her deceased father and made jokes about his sexuality on live television, causing his recording to be cut at the behest of the fans. The feud is held as one of the most controversial and disgusting things seen on IWA Television, but seemed to draw in a lot of ratings from the IWA audience, causing the feud to become a highlight of IWA during the latter months of 2015. One of the most controversial things that happened in the feud was when Tyler spiked Evie's drink with whiskey, due to her inability to drink a large amount of alcohol, and stripped her down to her lingerie in the alley beside the nightclub, placing money in her bra and mouth before taking pictures of her before writing a note that pinned the blame on her date. He also then bribed the bouncer at the joint to take her home and convince her to become his girlfriend, only for Tyler to beat him up and kidnap him after the third date between the two. Keenan destroyed Floyd Uzee on the November 2nd edition on WarZone, winning the match before beating him ruthlessly with a steel chair. He then appeared to his rival, Taylor, on the titantron after her match and set alight a picture of her stepfather to torment her. On the November 9th WarZone, Tyler beat Avery Barnes in clinical fashion after assaulting her during her entrance with hidden brass knuckles. Following this, near the end of the show, Tyler convinced one-off commissioner Liz Smalls (who was unaware of his nefarious and manipulative reputation) into placing his rival Evie Taylor into a match against Priscilla Price for the rebooted IWA Women's Championship. He was set to face Ryan Corey next week on the one-off reboot of LiveWire, the original IWA TV show, but the match was scrapped due to Corey's release from IWA. At the Legacy PPV, Tyler Keenan and Evie Taylor faced off, no rules, no boundaries, where Tyler walked out victorious, with Shayne Carter dragging Evie along with them. He captured her and locked her in a white padded room in a location only known to Tyler and his selected circle, inflicting both mental and physical torture upon her until she began to crack. Once her Father, Adam Matthews, arrived after Tyler had him released from prison, Evie's mind began to crack, forcing her into a bubble of memories where she was a child living the life she could not, leaving her totally comatose and open to suggestion in the real world, much to Tyler's amazement. However, the storyline was cut short when IWA's deal in the Key Arena ran out, along with their Netflix deal, and IWA was forced to move to Washington State to continue. Tyler saw this as a bad move for his career, and was released from his contract in December of 2015. Return to the Independent Circuit (2016-2017) After his performance at NGW: Fallout, Tyler Keenan entered talks with Next Generation Wrestling's sister promotion, Pro Wrestling ARK; a company that has contributed to many of the great stars of NGW, and NGW has contributed the same back as well. The next day, ARK officially announced the arrival of Tyler Keenan into the roster alongside Christopher Jordan and Handleson. Originally, many believed that Keenan was destined for a singles career in ARK. However, he was entered into the annual King of Trios tournament alongside Chris Jordan and the newest member of Extremely Lethal, Handleson. The trio advanced through to the second stage of the tournament by doing yet another impossible feat by defeating the team of the NGW Heavyweight Champion Jeffry Mason and Kelsey Taylor, known as the Bloodlust Revolution. Jackson Buckley was supposed to be their third man, but he did not show up and the team were left to fight as a tag instead of a trio. However, the trio came up unsuccessful against the next team in the tournament, the Queendom, after Christopher Jordan was left alone when the rest of the team was defeated and failed to overcome the onslaught they threw against him, leading to him to be defeated himself by the combined forces of the Queendom. After the team's elimination from the tournament, Keenan decided not to pursue anything in ARK, and returned to NGW alongside the rest of Extremely Lethal, although Handleson did not stay in the group for long afterwards and had never appeared alongside Keenan and Jordan on NGW programming. Then, after the closure of Next Generation Wrestling, Keenan took a few weeks off for a short sabbatical from the professional wrestling scene to work on 'personal issues', which would be later revealed to be an alcohol addiction and a messy break-up with his girlfriend, along with having time to recover from whatever injuries, both physical and mental, he had suffered but not fully healed during his run in NGW, including the small-scale head injury he had received during Extremely Lethal's tag team title match in November 2016 against the team of Nico Blaumann and Lucas Justice, known as H.I.S.S. Inc. However, in January 2016, Tyler Keenan publicly revealed that he was open to taking bookings and was active on independent circuit once again. This was followed up by the news that, on the 22nd January 2016, it was announced that Tyler Keenan had signed a deal of undisclosed terms with independent promotion Pure Amusement Wrestling. The promotion was located in Purity, Louisiana and ran out of an amusement park owned by Wicked Entertainment. The news came as a shock, as Tyler Keenan had said previously that he would be taking a longer sabbatical than he had officially taken. However, the match card was subsequently changed up due to an unexpected release of contract and Tyler Keenan was instead entered into the PAW Championship Tournament in the place of the released wrestler, facing "The Most Liberated Man in Professional Wrestling" Johnny Raike in a singles match in the first round of the tournament in Shreveport, Louisiana on February 4th. Ultimately, Johnny Raike defeated Tyler Keenan via. pinfall and he was eliminated from the tournament. On February 18th, at the Xayarena in Purity, Louisiana, Tyler Keenan defeated Tapanga Britt. On March 3rd, it was announced that Tyler Keenan would team with Calvin Harris to face the team of C.J. O'Donnel & Trixie and the team of Johnny Raike & Flaming Youth, with the winning team facing each other on the next show to determine the number one contender for the PAW Championship. However, the match was changed due to Tyler being released from his PAW Contract by mutual consent on the 1st March 2016. After this, it was announced that, on 17th September 2016, Tyler Keenan had signed from Manhattan-based independent promotion Epic Online Wrestling, joining the company's LiveWire roster, which was under the management of Ernie Parker. Tyler made his first on-screen debut for EOW on September 25th, 2016 on the second episode of LiveWire's show in a backstage confrontation between his former rival and former real-life girlfriend Evie Taylor. After this, it was announced that Keenan would face LiveWire roster member Zack Fantana on October 9th, 2016. However, the company went bust before the match ever took place and Keenan was released from his contract. Following his release from EOW, it was rumoured that Keenan had been attached to a potential new promotion made from the ashes of Next Generation Wrestling. The promotion, dubbed 'Furious Nightmare Wrestling' was rumoured to feature multiple former NGW stars, including Keenan. However, the rumours never got off the ground and soon dissipated into nothing. Following this, it was then announced that Keenan would be taking another small sabbatical from the wrestling industry to continue to nurse the injuries and 'personal problems' that had been plaguing him throughout the year. Royal Wrestling Kingdom (2017-Present) Debut & Feud with Ryan Vendetta Keenan emerged back into the wrestling spotlight in March 2017 after almost a year on the North American independent scene at RWK Dragon's Den, the third show for the upcoming promotion Royal Wrestling Kingdom, saving former rival and Danger Zone member Ryan Vendetta from the combined forces of Odin and Torunn Shock. Tyler's arrival had been hinted to in the weeks prior to the event through hidden vignettes, leading to an internet discussion as to whom the vignettes could be about. His save on Vendetta did not last for long, however, as Keenan swiftly turned on his ex-rival and beat him into the ground. Following this short segment Vendetta and Keenan, along with Odin Anaxagaros, were booked into a triple threat match at RWK: Ruler of the Ring, with the former rivals now at each other's throats once again. At the show, it would be Ryan Vendetta that would come out on top over the other participants to the match, scoring a pinfall over Odin Anaxagaros while Keenan tried to enter the ring. Following the loss, the feud between the two men had a kayfabe heated backstage confrontation that led to Vendetta hastily leaving the building because of an 'emergency', possible triggered by the words of Keenan. This 'emergency' would end up being an elaborate trap orchestrated by Keenan, who proceeded to attack Vendetta as soon as he arrived at the hospital room of Emile Cormier, Vendetta mentor and trainer. Their short brawl culminated in Keenan back body-dropping Vendetta down a flight of stairs. Following this attack, and now with their feud taken to a whole different level, the two old rivals were booked into a Hell in a Cell match at IWTMania V: When Worlds Collide, an event co-hosted by the promotions Internet Wrestling Titles and Royal Wrestling Kingdom, in order for them for them to finally settle their differences. At IWTMania, the two almost killed each other during the Hell in a Cell, sending each other through the cage wall and through the announce table in order to end the match. However, the match ultimately ended in a draw due to both men's shoulders being on the mat for the three count, which led to much discussion between the refereeing team and the new Owner of the Royal Wrestling Kingdom, Josh Reed, to figure out a winner. Following the match's end as a draw, an official statement from the RWK's Board of Directors explained that there would be no official rematch between Keenan and Vendetta due to the risk of serious injury and destruction that was shown during their Hell in a Cell, something that the RWK does not want repeated in the future. Both men also voiced their opinions on this on their social media accounts, but the current state of their feud is at the moment unknown. Extremely Lethal Reunion & Hiatus Following the events of IWTMania V: When Worlds Collide, in a post-match segment, Tyler Keenan was pictured leaving the trainer's room when he was confronted by his former tag team partner from Next Generation Wrestling and real-life best friend, Christopher Jordan. Now on crutches and badly injured following his Hell in a Cell match, a defeated and deflated Tyler spoke to Jordan about how he believed he had failed himself and everyon who knew him because he hadn't succeeded in his quest to defeat Vendetta. He then began to blame his injury, saying that h could have done it if not for being so reckless and allowing himself to receive his knee injury part-way through the match. Jordan, on the other hand, denied all of these statements and instead said that Keenan had proved why he had the potential to carry the Royal Wrestling Kingdom on his shoulders and had stood toe-to-toe with one of the company's current main eventers without faltering. Keenan did not see Jordan's optimism and response as well as he could have and moved to argue against him, his mood and stance sinking to an all-time low. However, seeing their conversation, newly-introduced RWK owner Josh Reed interrupted the conversation between the two friends and proceeded to literally freak out about the reunion of the two. He then tried to immediately book the pair of them in a tag team match against one of the newer tag teams in RWK: The team of Odin and Azrael, the Black Heart Brotherhood. Caught off-guard by the madness of the situation, the duo didn't originally know how to respond. Jordan had come to the event as a fan and a spectator, watching Keenan's duel with Vendetta inside Hell in a Cell as a fan and a friend of the competitor, he hadn't signed onto the Royal Wrestling Kingdom's roster. The duo originally deflected the idea of teaming up, citing singles careers and other important business, but the excitement of being able to team up with one another again and bring back the old days that they had routinely mentioned that they missed to one another made their decision a lot easier, so it did not take long before they both decided that they would indeed reform and become Extremely Lethal once again, much to the elation of Josh Reed and the RWK fandom when it was later announced that they would be teaming up to face the Black Heart Brotherhood at RWK: Cold Day in Hell. However, at A Cold Day In Hell, things would not go as planned for the duo as Extremely Lethal was defeated by the Black Heart Brotherhood when Keenan was pinned by Azrael following the latter's continuous offence upon Keenan's injured knee. It then didn't take long for the opposing duo to pick apart Keenan and take him apart easier than any team has been able to in his career. This pure demolition would show and leave a lasting impact upon Keenan who, following this, confirmed that he would be taking an indefinite amount of time off from competing and appearing within the Royal Wrestling Kingdom to make sure he could heal his knee injury properly and correctly, which was confirmed as a legitimate injury shortly after the event by professional wrestling insiders, and to finally solve 'underlying personal problems'. Return & Imperial Championship Contention Tyler Keenan returned to the Royal Wrestling Kingdom a month after his absence through his voice being heard in a phone call between himself and his tag partner, Christopher Jordan. There, Keenan announced that he in the all clear from the doctors and would be returning at RWK: Peace of Mind to be in Jordan's corner during his match with Vitor Mata and Chris Young for the vacant RWK European Championship. He also mentioned that, when Jordan asked him if he was competing, that he had his eye on another member of the roster, potentially scouting them for a future match. Keenan would then return in the flesh at RWK: Peace of Mind, interrupting Will Neilson following his match with Azrael, revealing that Neilson was that one that he was watching and that he did not understand why someone like him was able to be so popular and well-known. Neilson would, in turn, respond to this by challenging Keenan to a match, hell bent on proving to Keenan that he was what he said he was. Accepting Neilson's challenge, Keenan said that he wanted to see if Neilson could beat him, and in doing so he was sure that Neilson would earn his respect. Tyler also turned up later on in the night, standing at ringside as he watched his tag partner Christopher Jordan win the RWK European Championship for the first time. It was then confirmed that Keenan would indeed face Will Neilson at RWK: Democracy Rules in either a two-out-of-three falls match, a fifteen-minute iron man match or a regular singles match to decide which one of them would become the number one contender to Nick's RWK Imperial Championship. On the night, it was announced that the match would be a two-out-of-three falls match. Keenan would take the first fall with a Streets of Gold, before losing the second fall to a Lag Spike from Neilson. Eventually, it came down to a flurry of fists in the centre of the ring. Seeing no other choice, Keenan connected with a low blow and a rake to the eyes before hitting Neilson with a flurry of impactful moves, pinning him to gain the final fall and winning the match. Tyler Keenan was then scheduled to face Nick for the RWK Imperial Championship at RWK: Last Rites in September, having earned the number one contendership by beating Neilson in the centre of the ring at Democracy Rules. RWK Imperial Championship Reign At RWK: Last Rites, Keenan and Nick sparred in the main event of the night for the RWK Imperial Championship. Towards the end of the match, Keenan was on the receiving end of an onslaught of attacks from the champion, but was dragged out of the ring by Frankie Highwood and Joseph Diamond, the tag team known as Clique. Referee Rupert Ross exited the ring to stop any potential attack on Keenan by the duo, before being assisted by Christopher Jordan. This distraction led to Keenan being able to slip away and put on his patented brass knuckles, which he made famous during his time in IWA, before hitting Nick with the 'Brass Element' as he tried to grab Keenan through the ropes. Entering into the ring, Keenan hooked the leg and was counted for the three, becoming the RWK Imperial Champion for the first time in his career and gaining his first singles title in his career. After the match, he was congratulated by Christopher Jordan, Frankie Highwood and Joseph Diamond as the four revealed their duplicity and their new intention to form together and become the Clique. The day after, it was announced that the former champion had invoked his rematch clause and that Keenan would, once again, be facing Nick for the RWK Imperial Championship. However, it was also revealed that, due to a split decision by the board of directors, that Keenan's stablemates in Clique would be banned from ringside. Personal Life Keenan has personally confirmed in interviews that he religiously identifies himself as an atheist. He is also a big fan of the basketball team the L.A. Lakers and frequently visits their games during his spare time. Other than that, Keenan is a big film and comic fan and has frequently used art and music of that ilk for his attires and entrances. Keenan cites Batman as his favourite comic. Keenan owns three houses. One is a condo in Hollywood, California, while the others are a penthouse apartment in New York City, New York and a luxury apartment in London, England. He frequently splits his time between both homes, but has confirmed that he spends more time over in the United Kingdom due to his contract with Royal Wrestling Kingdom, a UK-based promotion. A well-known music enthusiast, Keenan cites David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix as some of his influences, using their music as themes in Next Generation Wrestling. In January 2016, Keenan painted a Bowie-esque lightning bolt upon his face for one of his matches as a tribute to Bowie, who passed away earlier in the month. Keenan is also a fan of rock bands such as Black Sabbath and Metallica, even taking a trip to Manchester in January 2017 to visit one of Black Sabbath's final ever concerts. Family and Relationships Tyler Keenan was born on August 11th, 1991 in the town of Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California in the United States of America. His father is successful entrepreneur Vernon Keenan and his mother is a famous socialite named Alicia Keenan. He also has one sibling, his twin sister Katrina, also known as Kitty or Katie, who is a professional model like him. Outside of the ring, Keenan is good friends with fellow Royal Wrestling Kingdom wrestling stars Frankie Highwood, Joseph Diamond, Christopher Jordan, with whom he wrestles with in a tag team called Generation Global, and long-time rival Ryan Vendetta. In 2013, it was confirmed that Tyler Keenan was in a relationship with Los Angeles-born model Rebecca Everett, whom he had met whilst the pair worked a photoshoot for the same brand. However, in mid-2014 it was announced that the pair and mutually decided to end their relationship due to Tyler's ever expanding need to travel for his career, but still remain good friends to this day. Tyler was the confirmed to be in a relationship with former Internet Wresting Alliance competitor Evelyn Matthews, better known by her ring name of Evie Taylor. The two had first met in IWA as they feuded for the latter months of 2015. Their kayfabe relationship was a heavily documented part of their storyline within the company, but unreleased scenes from the IWA archives have shown their on-screen rivalry blossoming into a romance. It was this on-screen romance that turned real as the two ended the year by announcing and going public with their relationship. In late 2016, however, the two announced that they had split up and gone their separate ways after over a year of dating. More recently, pictures emerged in early 2017 that showed Keenan holding hands and spending time around Manchester, England with kayfabe Royal Wrestling Kingdom executive consultant Kristina Oliver, shortly after her official arrival in the RWK. However, although these pictures were released, nothing has been confirmed between the two parties whether or not the two are in a relationship. Rumours started to circulate once more in September 2017 when Kristina was seen with Keenan once again shortly after his title win at Last Rites, spending time out in Liverpool, England with the new champion. Health and Addiction Throughout his four-year career in professional wrestling, Tyler Keenan has suffered multiple injuries, minor and major. The most well-known injuries that Keenan has suffered are the concussion he suffered at NGW: The Phantom Agony after Lucas Justice connected with an elbow to his head that was unintentionally stiff and clocked him. Although he spent over a month in recovery, Keenan came back earlier than expected to be the final entrant in the gauntlet at NGW: Prisoners of Winter. However, the concussion soon came back to haunt him after Keenan was forced to spend the early months of 2016 off to recover from the injury. The second most well-known injury was the brutal knee injury he sustained towards the end of his Hell in a Cell match with Ryan Vendetta at IWTMania V: When Worlds Collide, which was later revealed to be a strained meniscus that required surgery and three months of recovery before Keenan was deemed fit to enter the ring again. It had been well-documented that Keenan suffered with an alcohol problem throughout 2016 following the closure of Next Generation Wrestling. Keenan stayed out of the public light during that time, making sure nobody could see 'the state he was in at the time'. Keenan has since opened up on the struggle that he went through in order to beat the addiction and get clean. "It was tough. I was going through a rough patch after the closure of NGW and I didn't know where else I could turn. The bottle was, in my opinion, the only answer. Turns out now that it was one of the worst things I could have done. It cost me a lot of relationships, including that of my girlfriend, and it almost cost me my career." - Tyler Keenan, January 2017. Tyler Keenan has confirmed he has been clean since May 2016 and has not touched any type of alcohol since that time, officially confirming himself as a recovered alcoholic. In mid-2017, Keenan said that he had begun to dabble in alcohol once again in small amounts, but now had a trusted circle of close friends and confidantes around him to make sure he did not let himself kickstart his addiction once again. In Wrestling * Finishing Moves ** Allentown Vice (Hammerlock w/ body scissors) - 2013-2016 ** B''rass Element'' (Right-handed knockout punch, with brass knuckles) - 2015; used rarely thereafter ** Deja Vu (Turnbuckle powerbomb) - 2014-present ** Hollywood Vice (Kimura lock w/ body scissors) - 2016-2017, used as a signature move thereafter ** Streets of Gold (Running knee lift) - 2013-present ** Mulholland Driver (Go Home Driver) - 2017-present * Signature Moves ** Lock of Ages (Dragon clutch) 2015-present; adopted from Jeffry Mason ** Red Thunderclap - (Arm-trap Pele kick) - 2015-present ** Penalty Shot (Independent circuit) - (Seated soccer kick) - 2016-present ** House of Cards - (Diving double foot stomp) - 2016-present ** The Virgo Dissolution (NGW/PAW/IWA/EOW) (Slingshot elbow drop) - 2014-present * With Christopher Jordan ** Double-team finishing moves *** The Diasterpiece (Deja Vu (Turnbuckle powerbomb) from Keenan into discus clothesline from Jordan) - 2015-present *** The Regicide (Inverted sitout side powerslam (Jordan) / Running cutter (Keenan) combination) - 2017-present * Managers ** Shayne Carter ** Walter Graham ** Christopher Jordan * Wrestlers Managed ** Christopher Jordan * Entrance Themes ** 'Fame' by David Bowie - 2016 ** 'I Can Do Anything' by 3OH!3 - January 2015 - August 2015) ** 'All Along the Watchtower' by Jimi Hendrix - (August 2015 - January 2017) ** 'Hate Me' by Escape the Fate - (October 2015 - July 2016) ** 'I'm Deranged' by David Bowie - (January 2016) ** 'Do I Wanna Know?' by Arctic Monkeys - (February 2017 - April 2017) ** 'It Remembers' by Every Time I Die - (April 2017 - present) ** 'Kings Never Die' by Eminem - (October 2015 - present, used when teaming with Christopher Jordan as Extremely Lethal/Generation Global) ** 'Clique' by Kanye West ft. Big Sean and Jay Z - (September 2017 - present, used when teaming with the Clique) * Nicknames ** 'The Sole Survivor of Team Graham' ** 'The Modern-Day Wordsmith' ** 'The First-Rate Manipulator' ** 'The Gold Standard' ** 'The #GlobalBrand' '' Championships and Accomplishments Next Generation Wrestling * NGW Tag Team Champion (1 time) with Christopher Jordan Royal Wrestling Kingdom * RWK Imperial Champion (1 time) __FORCETOC__